In advance of Game 3 of the 2022 WNBA Finals on Thursday evening, Las Vegas Aces star A’Ja Wilson received yet another accolade. The league announced its 2022 All-WNBA first and second teams, and Wilson unsurprisingly added a first-team selection to her Defensive Player of the Year and MVP awards. Wilson was joined on the first team by Seattle’s Breanna Stewart, Phoenix’s Skylar Diggins-Smith, Chicago’s Candace Parker, and Las Vegas teammate Kelsey Plum.
Your 2022 All-WNBA First and Second Teams 👏 pic.twitter.com/3tAACRckTD
— Dime (@DimeUPROXX) September 16, 2022
Wilson averaged 19.5 points, 9.4 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 1.9 blocks, and 1.4 steals per game for Las Vegas this season, edging out Stewart by a handful of first-place votes in what was an energized MVP debate. As such, it was not a surprise to see Stewart, who led the WNBA in scoring, join Wilson on the first team, with Plum making an appearance after finishing No. 2 in scoring. Wilson and Stewart were also voted unanimously to the first team. Plum received 50 first-team votes and five second-team votes, though she was oddly left off one ballot entirely.
The second team included Connecticut’s Alyssa Thomas and Jonquel Jones, New York’s Sabrina Ionescu, Minnesota’s Sylvia Fowles, and Los Angeles star Nneka Ogwumike. The closest voting battle from the 56-member voting panel came between Thomas, who led the second team in voting with 175 points, and both Parker and Diggins-Smith who tied with 183 points.
